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Assessment tasks are designed to enable students to demonstrate the Learning and Employability outcomes for the relevant level of study. Level Learning Outcomes are embedded in the assessment task(s) at that level. This enables a more integrated view of overall student performance at each level.
This module will introduce students to the major developments in western philosophical thought from the turn of the 20th century, and trace how philosophy has developed from that point to the position it is currently at. This module will identify particular theories, arguments and philosophical contributions that have had considerable influence over a range of philosophical disciplines, which could include the philosophy of mind, language, science, politics, ethics, religion, metaphysics, ontology etc. The module will draw from analytic and continental traditions, and therefore provide students with a range of perspectives and views from a diverse body of thinkers which could include: Sartre, Camus, Nietzsche; Wittgenstein, Popper, Ayer; Weil, Anscomb, Diamond. This module will allow students to deploy their knowledge of ancient and early modern philosophy developed in L4 and L5 into the contemporary context, and identify how ancient questions like ‘who are we’, ‘why are we here’ and ‘how should we live’ remain alive in today’s philosophical discourse. Upon completion, students will understand the dominant questions, theories and arguments that feature in contemporary philosophy, and have a firm awareness of their historical origins and developments.
Sessions will be run in an interactive manner in order to facilitate open dialogue between students and lecturer, as well as among students themselves, and therefore there is not a strict separation between lecture and seminar.
You will be taught using LTU’s multimodal approach to teaching. Your learning will be divided into three stages:
Preparation: You will be given clear tasks to support you in preparing for live, in-person teaching. This may include watching a short, pre-recorded lecture (or other open educational resource), reading a paper or text chapter, finding resources to discuss with your peers in class, reading and commenting on a paper or preparing other material for use in class. Your Module Tutor will give you information to help you understand why you are completing an activity and how this will be built on during live, in-person teaching.
Live: All your live, in-person teaching will be designed around active learning, providing you with valuable opportunities to build on preparation tasks and interact with staff and peers, as well as helping you to deepen your understanding, apply knowledge and surface any misunderstandings.
Post: Follow-up activities will include clear opportunities for you to check understanding and apply your learning to a new situation or context. These activities will also be a source of feedback for staff that will inform subsequent sessions.
Lectures/seminars
Hours: 24
Intended Group Size: 30
Guided independent study
Hours: 126
Further details relating to assessment
Debate: Students will participate in 20-minute group debates, where members will be responsible for representing at least two opposing views on one of the core topics covered in the module. Each side of the debate will make a case for their position, and will critically examine and question the views of the other side. Students will be supported in seminar sessions for debate preparation and skill-development.
If a student is required to perform this assignment as a resit and is unable to participate in a debate, then the student will be provided with an appropriate example of a philosophical debate and tasked to analyse, discuss and respond to it. This assignment would take the form of a 2,500 word essay, and further instructions will be provided by the lecturer.
001 Debate; 20 minutes; end of semester 1 100%
Module Coordinator - Suzanne Owen
Level - 6
Credit Value - 15
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 6S1